Time is For
by We'llHaveWingsEventually
Summary: With each hour that the clock ticks away, yet another voice echoes to the demon, pleading for him for the soul of his master. Will their butterfly whispers bring about a typhoon of change? Sebastian is visited by six people from the past, will his resolve of taking Ciel's soul falter? Sebaciel if you squint a bit. R&R please.
1. Goodnight

**Okay, so this fic was based off of several ideas**

 **\- The ghosts in the anime of the king and his brother**

 **\- the Kuroshitsuji pocket watch I got for Christmas**

 **\- The Crow nursery rhyme my friend gave me a picture book for... since ya know... Bassy is a crow/ aviary demon... ha...**

 **\- trying to find new ways to break my own heart**

 **\- the cover art is my own work specially made just for this fic**

 **If you like, please leave a review as they are little rays of sunshine to me!**

 **If I owned anything, would I be posting on here?**

 **I know its really short but hey, its kind of a prologue soooooo yeah.**

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The thunder rumbled far off, its tantrum having been thoroughly thrown. Erratic, shallow breathing had steadied into the slow and deep rhythm of heavy slumber. Young Master was finally asleep, his slate hair falling across his shut eyes. His expression so still and peaceful and vulnerable, much like the cursed princess in the book Rachel used to read. The demon butler rose from his seat on the edge of the too-large bed and extinguished the firelight, leaving his sleeping Master in darkness.

In the hall, he paused and listened.

The sounds of nighttime reached his ears, the snoring of slumbering servants, creaking and groaning of the house settling. He wondered if this is what the castle had sounded like when their princess slept. He would have the night to himself to prepare for the following day, as always. Hopefully, to himself.

His pocket watch, the one that was purely part of his butler aesthetic, silver with the Phantomhive crest engraved in it as though the boy who gave it to him dared to lay claim and control time itself. That pocket watch of which he had no particular care for told him it was twenty to the twelfth hour, hardly the Witching Hour. Then again, the Witching Hour was just another faerie tale Humans told themselves to lull themselves into security. Another long night in a seemingly unending series of long nights for the demon that never sleeps. The dragon guarding his prize.

He checked the other watch, the one that did have significance to him. Polished black, the symbol of their contract was engraved in purple. He clicked it open, examining it prediction with a tightening of his lips. This watch did not tell the time it was, it told the time until the contract's completion.

Three years, six months, nine days, two hours, twenty - three minutes and four seconds.

 **...**

One thousand, two hundred eighty-six and a half days, two hours, twenty-three minutes and three seconds.

 **...**

Thirty thousand, nine hundred twenty-four hours, twenty-three minutes and two seconds.

 **...**

One million eight hundred fifty-five thousand four hundred sixty-three minutes, one second.

...

One hundred eleven million three hundred twenty-seven thousand seven hundred eighty seconds.

How little time that was.

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 **Hope you liked it! Stick around for more if you did! OH! In case reading out such large numbers is as difficult for you as it is for me, here you go!**

 **3 years, 6 months, 9 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes, 4 seconds.**

 **1,286.5 days, 2 hours, 23 minutes, 3 seconds.**

 **30,924 hours, 23 minutes, 2 seconds.**

 **1,855,463 minutes, 1 second.**

 **111, 327,780 seconds.**


	2. Twelve is for terms

**Hey guys whatsup? Well, this story is completely written out, just posting the chapters here and then its done for now... Anyways, enjoy, and read + review**

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Midnight struck heavy, the pendulum in the hall swinging slowly and loudly, alerting him to the state of his peace, which was -

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

 _Gone_

" I see you are tending to his study." a satin voice chimed behind him. He did not startle, he gave no outward reaction to the guest.

" You do such a fine job, I'm almost jealous I didn't get to have you as my own butler, you certainly would have helped in my line of work."

The demon finished his filing of papers and turned to face his new company.

The likeness was uncanny, but the differences were also not subtle. His face was leaner, his eyes the shade of the tea that Young Master drank every morning. Perhaps, if Master were to mature one day into a young man, he would look like the man before him. He would have undoubtedly look like the man before him, if he had been given the chance to grow up.

" Vincent." was the only greeting the apparition received as the butler moved on to dust the bookshelves.

Vincent Phantomhive sat in the desk chair, relaxed yet princely. The butler could see where his Young Master had gotten his demeanor from. The previous Earl watched him as he went about his tasks, silent. Vincent was usually quite, or discussed things about how the business is going now that Master is in charge. He often asks how his son is doing, not through words but through his eyes he asks, his tone when he speaks. Vincent Phantomhive cared for his son, and that was the only thorn in the otherwise smooth time that went whenever he visited his son's 'butler'. Vincent was very business like, and the demon could handle that. But what he disliked was that Young Master was Vincent's beloved child, and as such it would be inevitable that Vincent would repeat his plea. This usually happened within the last bit of his visiting hour, and the demon watched as the clock's hands rested on forty-five after twelve.

The demon looked at the father of his Young Master.

" He named you after our dog, his only companion when he was sick. His comfort."

His grip tightened on the stoke he was using in the fireplace.

" That dog protected him from the nightmares that we couldn't, Rachel and I. He protected him till the very end. That's the promise you give to my boy, isn't it?" there was a hollow chuckle.

" Till the very end…. And you do mean that, don't you?" He finally turned to face him.

With a hand over heart and a shallow bow, he spoke.

"Of course I mean that, Sir."

Vincent waved his hand at the demon, a smirk upon his features.

" Sir? Honestly, I think we are beyond that now, don't you agree? After all, you are my son's damnation. His apparent only one true fate. You hold quite a rare position in his life, a very intimate connection." Vincent was calm and expressionless with just the exception of the quirk in his brow and lips. The demon ignored the stirring in his core at the man's double meaning.

He checked his silver watch and sighed in secret relief, remaining silent for the short time till Vincent's departure. As the clock stretched to the next hour, he stood and faced the man. With his customary bow and smile, he bid his guest a parting statement.

" Sir, I assure you that my role is simply as one hell of a butler to your son."

The smile twisted into a grin, eyes glinting unnaturally as he continued.

" However, your son, of his own free will and with full understanding of the terms of the contract, choose to enter into this deal with me. The terms have not changed, neither have our stances on the matter. So, if you please…" he spoke with all the politeness expected of a Phantomhive Butler, and all the malice of a predator's possessiveness of its prey.

Vincent studied the expression of the creation and damnation of his son. This creature had appeared to his son in the moment that he had been strongest, when he was at his weakest. This creature had become his son's creation the moment a name had been given to him. The name of the dog that had accompanied his son in his young years, and a face that if one knew how to see as the traumatized child had, could have slightly resembled the father the boy had been ripped away from. And yet, he was entirely _Himself_ , he had begun existence anew the moment his name had left his son's lips, perhaps damning both of them.

Vincent shut his Earl Grey eyes, opening them after a breath to soothe himself. The seconds were closing in on his time.

" Have not changed? Surely one such as yourself knows that _everything_ changes."

" The terms of the contract are binding, Sir."

Vincent cracked the smile that had brought comfort to his son and fear to his enemies. The second ticked away, last of the last.

" My dear hell-fiend, simply change the terms then."

The former Earl Phantomhive chuckled, his laugh hanging in the air after he had gone.

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 **So what you guys think? Another short one, sorry.**


	3. One is for sweets

**Okay so... The whole Ciel's Twin Brother Theory... I borrowed part of it for this. I didn't do the whole switched-identities thing, his twin actually died and Ciel is Ciel in this. I feel like a genius though, cuz of the name. No, I wasn't being lazy, the name is for the Saint that guards the gates to heaven, which happens to be the meaning of Ciel's name ( heaven ) and for the famous child that will never grow up. Enjoy and review!**

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The singular chime finished its echoing course throughout the house as the butler made his way to his next set of tasks. The silence that was undisturbed by his steps, remained unbroken despite the tiny feet that followed behind him. He turned into the kitchen, holding the door open for his next guest. The tiny figure ran past him and took a seat on the marble counter.

" Good evening!" the boy crooked his head with a smile. Seeing the boy always threw the demon back, back to that room, those fools, that tiny hand reaching out and eyes burning with rage. But this boy was not his Young Master. His nearly exact photographic copy, perhaps less frail, and forever frozen at the age of ten. The other impossibly large difference between the two were their personalities.

The child before him was as though his innocence and life had never been stolen. His demeanor was a polar opposite of his raging, cold, haunted Young Master. It was strange to think that his Master had ever been anything like this, and the thought brought an ache to the demon's chest. He shook the feeling away and smiled at the boy.

" I must attend to my chores, Young Lord, but when I am finished would you care for a treat?" The boy's eyes, the same as his father's, twinkled as he nodded.

He took care to speed through his chores this time, finishing quickly and preparing a sorbet from the ingredients previously gathered. The boy kept his spot, kicking his legs to-and-fro. Their conversations were kept to a light banter and that was how the demon preferred it. The conversation was light, far from the topics of murder and royal duties and games and souls that he was used to. He offered the treats to the boy, bowing in full flare with a respectful " Young Lord". The boy giggled, licking enthusiastically at the frozen treat.

" You don't have to call me that! " Dainty teeth bit into the flavored ice.

" I'm not your lord, my brother is!" he smiled. The demon merely smiled, pulling the boy into his lap in a comforting embrace. He never could have done this with his Master. He would have been slapped for even daring to break the master - servant roles, let alone for having done something such as holding him like a child when there was no other need than simply wanting to. the joyful child in his arms seemed to beam like the sun was in his smile, always correcting the demon with a giggle and " I'm not your lord, just call me Peter!" He always enjoyed his time with Peter, who would follow him from task to task and brought a warmth to the manor that only an innocent child could.

But Peter was special to the demon.

For one to summon a demon, and not just happen upon one as how some do, blood needed to be spilled, a sacrifice made. It was his Master's rage and Peter's blood that had summoned the demon that had rescued and protected the surviving brother closed his eyes, remembering.

 _Who has summoned me?_

 _Not this one._

 _Or him…_

 _His eyes scanned across the room, searching. The limp body on the altar was so tiny, most certainly a child. The depravity of humans matches our own at times. He walked over to the body, examining it._

 _Grey hair, brown eyes wide in fear, tears still trailing from them. His pale skin was smeared with ugly bruises, what clothes he had barely covering the signs of the abuse. Ribs showing, starved._

 _Beaten._

 _Starved._

 _Broken._

 _Sacrificed._

 _Yes, this young child was sacrificed. Crimson soaked his shirt and ran from his lips, pooling onto the table. The dagger was still lodged in the child's chest._

 _He felt a slight pull to the boy's body, surely it couldn't have been him who had summoned him?_

 _If he wasn't a demon, he would have startled when the boy's hand stretched out, gripping tightly to the demon despite the weakness._

" _Save him!" The boy coughed, bloody spittle spraying out._

 _It wasn't an offer of a deal, the boy was already fading. It was a plea._

 _Demons do not answer a child's plea._

 _He turned to where he felt another pull stirring._

 _In a mucky cage, there sat the boy. Alive, well, and sobbing with horrified eyes._

 _Not the boy._

 _His twin._

 _The child's grip loosened and the demon stepped over the the cage. Already, he could feel the last traces of the boy's life dissipating._

" _Please god, save him!" cried the boy in front of him, reaching out through the bars._

 _" Save Peter!"_

 _his cries went ignored, but the demon did reply._

" _You have given a big sacrifice. Now it's your choice whether to make a contract with a demon and have your wishes granted, or not."_

" _Anything, as long as you save him!" cried the boy, interrupting the demon._

" _The price to cross the river has already been paid." The demon stated, nodding towards the body of the child's twin. He waited for the words to sink in. He watched in delicious anticipation as he saw the boy reach realization, and decision._

 _The Contract was formed._

" _My, what a little Master you are."_

 _His mouth split into a wide grin, not bothering to hide his glistening fangs._

" _Destroy them all."_

 _He chuckled, and obeyed his first order. When the massacre was over in all of five seconds and the boy released, the demon waited as his Master approached the body of his twin. Silence hung heavy, and then the sobbing. He stepped forward, but at his bloodied touch the boy swung around wildly._

" _Don't touch me!"_

 _He pulled back, waiting another twenty minutes for the child to stop sobbing._

 _And then he stopped._

" _Take us away from here."_

 _The demon obliged, lifting His Master to carry him off. He started kicking and screaming, his little arms bracing themselves against the demon's chest._

" _What the devil are you doing? Take him too!"_

 _His Master reached tiny hands out to his brother's corpse, the demon, without complaint, gathered the corpse into his arms as well._

" _Yes, My Lord."_

 _..._

" Can… May I see him?" his voice was quiet, expecting rejection. He debated it. Deciding, he lifted the child up and carried him through the manor towards his brother.

Peter lay curled beside his sleeping brother, their difference in size testifying to how much the little Earl had indeed grown.

" When he… When your contract is fulfilled, what will happen?" he asked tenderly, his hand ghosting across his brother's face. The demon stood in the dark and spoke.

" Once the Young Master has his revenge, I will consume his soul." he watched the boy for reactions.

" Why do you want his soul?"

" … I am a demon, and My Lord's soul is exceptionally delicious… I covet every bit of it."

" No… You covet him. I've seen how you are with him. It is how Mother and Father are." he mused, examining how much his brother had grown without him.

" I like you. I would hate to cheat you of a meal… But i know you care more for him than you realise. And if he must die… please, don't take my brother from me."

tears welled up, and he shut his eyes to banish them. the clock began to chime, and peter ran to the side of the other specter that had appeared before waving to the demon and vanishing.

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 **Did I do okay with the whole twin thing? what you guys think?**


	4. Two is for lullabies

**This one is really short, I apologize, some characters are really hard to write for when there is not much about them... Hope I do a good job though!**

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His Lord had begun another nightmare, but it was not his butler who comforted him.

His Lord's head rested in her lap as she hummed a tune to him and smoothed his hair back. He had only opened his eyes once, glazed over with exhaustion. This contact would only be a strange, nostalgic dream to him in the morning. Rachel Phantomhive cradled her son gently, a true mother still. When he was at peace, she still kept him in her ungloved arms. Finally, she turned her attention to the silent demon and smiled at him.

" You spoil him too much, he eats so many sweets." her remark was but a laugh.

" I believe he developed that sweet tooth whilst under your parenting."

she only laughed more, the sound soft like the breeze in the curtains, snow falling.

She said nothing for some time, she didn't need presence alone was enough to affect the demon. No one could make him feel ashamed more than she, the mother who had the same eyes as his Young Master.

" This child has seen too much pain."

Her eyes dimmed as sorrow dampened them, but she smiled at the demon. He could not reply, his tongue felt dead in his mouth.

" But he has you. And you have done a marvelous job of caring for him in our absence. With all that happened, all that he has lost, I feared he would never find peace again, never smile again. We left him an impossible life, one that wasn't fair to give him. He could have never have done this alone, no matter how strong he is. I see how he smiles when you've left his presence, always too proud to let you see the true effect you have. You help him to find peace, in little ways."

Never looking away, she read with ease what was heavy on his mind.

" No. I do not hate you. I cannot agree with your plan to take my son's soul, but I have faith that things will work out for the better. You do too, I know it."

Her words were like a blanket wrapping around him, soft, warm, suffocating. The image of his Young Master, always so cruel, cold, dignified - now vulnerable in his mother's arms… That image ruffled the aviary demon's feathers. He bowed respectfully, leaving His Master to be cared for by his mother, the one spectre that never came to see the demon, but to see her son and hold him once more. He could never be in her presence for long.

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 **How did I do?**


	5. Three is for winning

**Again, a really short one. Her death really made me sad, and it was legitimately really hard to write this because of it XD**

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" Well, well, well, Mr. Perfect-Butler."

Her attitude towards him had never changed, even in death. She sat proudly, her legs crossed and a chess game laid out before her.

" Madame Red."

He bowed to the crimson woman. She winked at him, and began to move the chess pieces. It seemed she would let him work tonight, and as he did he could almost hear her and Ciel arguing over a game in the back of his mind.

" Damn it!"

The chessboard went flying, pieces scattering. Before all of them had even hit the floor, he had gone to work setting them to rights.

" Even against myself, I lose…"

She let her words sink into the air around them.

" I should have known what you are, even from the beginning. You were always too perfect."

She ran her hands through his hair as he bent by her to retrieve the last piece.

" Why did you make a contract with my nephew? Why did you not just accept the sacrifice, grant him one wish and leave him be?" She stared him down, she had always been more bold than the others in a way.

" I made a contract with him because it would not have been proper to leave my Master in such a state without setting things right."

He set the board up again as she began laughing.

" Putting things right?" she scoffed.

" That was never your responsibility! And your Master? He wasn't that yet, you owed him nothing."

He returned to his chores, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Her time slipped away as it had for the others.

Finally, he took the opposing seat and joined her game, moving his pieces.

" Madame Red, please understand that your surviving nephew was My Master from the moment I had been summoned."

Checkmate.

" I've lost again."

The venom went from her eyes and voice as the clock began its tolling.

" I understand you were his from the start."

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 **I failed at her total sassiness didn't I? I failed at her character in general didn't I? ugh.**


	6. Four is for a way out

**Don't mind me... * crying * just read... * facepillow* review...**

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In life, the demon had only found the detective annoying at first, and then a threat to His Master's fortitude in his choices. That was a different time, so long ago. Indeed, time seemed to pass so quickly for the demon and his Master, and with time comes change.

Now, the demon could not help that tug inside of him, wishing that the detective's words were not wasted on him, but offered to His Master in hope of change.

Abberline set to work helping the demon with his chores, despite the demon's refusal at assistance. He could not resist the surfacing memory of the detective's life, and his lasting moments. The pawn that had chosen to be on his Master's side when no one else wanted or was able to, the one person who saw Ciel as the child he was, and wanted to protect him.

Who _had_ protected him, even when the Butler couldn't.

...

" _You fool, damn you!"_

 _The tip of the blade stuck unnaturally through the back of the detective as he stood, shielding the boy._

" _Get away, Ciel."_

" _You're in my way, Inspector." Lau did not blink an eye at the dying man before him, pulling his sword out and letting the body fall._

 _Rising to strike again, he was met by the demon's hands stopping him. In two swift movements, he had been struck and retreated._

" _Magnificent, My Lord. You win by virtue.. of your.. vice." The chinese drug dealer barely held his stance on his knees._

" _Why Lau? Tell me!"_

" _The match is over. You've won quite handly as expected. I never had what it takes to play the game, I suppose."_

 _Lau took his leave, Ran Mao in tow._

 _In the midst of such violence, a violence that had followed his Master for years, the demon had never seen His Lord concerned over any of his pawns' lives. And yet..._

" _Hang on Abberline! Just, hang on…"_

" _I'm glad… Ciel. I'm glad that… you're alright. I was just… like you. I lost my loved ones, and I thought... I would never get my family back. I - I thought that nothing would ever be the same… but I was so wrong. You can have your family."_

" _No I can't, what are you saying?"_

" _You do have a chance, Ciel. To move forward, and build a brand new future for yourself. Don't ever forget that. Promise… You won't..." The detective's hand came away from the boy's face, his eyepatch coming away with it, revealing the mark of his own damnation to the dying man._

 _And the boy did not notice._

" _But there is no future for me, because… I gave it away."_

 _The demon saw the look in his Young Master's eyes, and decided it was time to interrupt before the doubt in his choice took hold of the young boy._

 _His interruption had earned him a lecture, but it was more than that. His Master was yelling at him for consciously and willingly sacrificing a life that was not his to sacrifice, that of Detective Fred Abberline's._

 _..._

" _You do have a chance, Ciel. To move forward, and build a brand new future for yourself. Don't ever forget that. Promise… You won't..."_

 _..._

The demon at the time could only feel anger at Abberline for shaking his Master's resolve. Now, he could only wish that the man was around still to show his Master the way out.

Abberline worked merrily alongside the demon,too good of character to hold a grudge against the demon for what he knew he had done. No doubt, had he lived, he would have been a father figure to the lost child, would have reminded his Master of his own humanity.

He wiped his brow when the work was done, an unneeded habit from his living days.

" Work well done, eh Phantomhive Butler?" he laughed.

" Yes, sir."

" Well, my time here is almost done for now. If you could, please give him my regards, and please -"

" I know your message for him."

Abberline smiled at him, and left with the beginning chimes.

The demon remembered.

His Master's word was unbreakable.

His Master had given his word to the dying detective, to remember, without words.

The demon had seen.

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 *** still crying ***


	7. Five is for a promise

*** sobbing uncontrollably* I just can't anymore okay? read and review and let me die in peace.**

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Gone

Gone

Gone

Gone

Gone

" Hello Black."

She was perched on the window sill, silhouetted against the barely lightening sky. She swung her legs to-and-fro, giving him a lopsided grin. Her light auburn hair falling across the space where an eye should have been.

" Hello, Doll."

He was done with his preparation work, and this hour was often the one he took for himself, to do whatever he pleased. For now, he was stationed in his Master's bedroom once again. The tight-rope performer stretched, lopping down from ledge and skipping over to him. He sat on the very edge of his Master's bed, just far enough away that should his Master move, he wouldn't feel his presence. Doll was less careful, dropping heavily onto the mattress.

" Black, I told you, don't call me that. I was never Doll."

Her smile thinned a bit.

" I _was_ Freckles, for _him_."

She nodded to his sleeping form.

" But you know my name already."

She glanced back at him with her one good eye, a washed out shade of his Master's.

" ...Did he ever know my real name?"

The demon never took his eyes off of his Master's sleeping form.

" I located and compiled a file on you after the incident. Moira Ruth Ayre."

" So I take it you never told him then. Probably doesn't even know you have a file."

They sat in silence, listening to the boy's peaceful sleeping.

Doll moved, crawling on all fours to his Master's side. She stopped beside him, looking over his young face before resting her body down next to him. Her bad eye was revealed, burned by fire.

" He's so tiny. And warm, like a cuddly little kid. I liked sleeping with him, it was so comforting. Haha, in his sleep sometimes he would cuddle up to me and it was just so cute."

She brushed his hair out of his face, running her thumb under the shut contracted eye.

" I don't understand how someone so young… could become so hateful. Like that night… How much has he lost? But you know what, I know he wasn't always lying to me."

His Master seemed to sense her presence despite her lack of life. He shifted in his sleep, curling into her arms with a soft smile blooming onto his face. She held him to her tightly, even though she could no longer perceive his warmth nor could he perceive the chill of her body - the veil of death denied them that simple human comfort.

" See? So cute." she nuzzled her face into his hair, unable to feel its softness.

" Do you ever do this, eh Black?" she grinned at him, teasing knowledge gleaming in her eye.

" That would be i most inappropriate action between Master and Servant." He did not budge.

" Ah yes, Master and Servant... I wondered why you two seemed so very chummy. Always taking care of him like you did."

" I was simply fulfilling my duty."

" Oh it was more than that, Black. Even I can see that, and I'm half blind _and_ dead."

Her words held little to no malice, yet he still felt a pain in his chest that made him flinch. Her death had been one order of his Master's that he had come to regret following. Her death, the death of one of the only friends his Master had ever had…. Yet another thread of his own humanity having snapped, letting him fall ever farther into the abyss of their contract.

" You know, I wanted him to be part of our family…"

She was smoothing her hand across his face again, the look in her eye moist with sadness.

" Really truly. But now… I see that he has a family. With those other servants, and you. I guess it's good that he didn't become part of my family. And… I'm sad. Sad that I can't feel him in my arms anymore. I'm sad that Joker and all of them, my family, didn't have the life of ease, but we had each other, and we couldn't have gone on like we did with the circus. So, thank you for stopping our horrible deeds. But I am sad it had to be final." her voice was quiet, drifting to a silent stop.

" What do you think would have happened if I hadn't…"

He waited to respond, thinking over it carefully.

" My Young Master was far gone at that time, his own trauma resurfacing. Distant though he may have been, I do not believe he would have Ordered me to end you. Given time, I am certain he would have tracked you down or released you depending your fate, and would have taken you to be part of our work force, or ' family', as you put it. Just as we have done for Snake."

She smiled, thanking him for taking care of Snake in their absence. Her eye closed, as if asleep. He let her be in silence, watching the sky as it lightened.

The sky shifted from dark midnight's hues to a semblance of blue, or grey. Her time would be over soon, as the sun would rise. She stirred from her place beside his Young Master, propping herself up on her elbows to look at the demon whose eyes were on the clock, watching the last minutes tick away.

" Time's almost done here, for now." She twisted herself to look over the boy beside her, leaning down and placing a kiss upon his brow before getting up. She crawled back to the edge and sat with the demon, staring down at her feet.

" You know…."

He watched her profile in the dim light, her sad smile gently growing hopeful.

" Your contract is to help him get the best possible revenge on those who tried to destroy him right?"

He nodded.

" You know, some people…."

She stretched, standing up on her toes and bounced halfway to the window.

" Some people say that the best possible revenge on those who tried to destroy you, is to show them that they didn't. Live the fullest life you can live, rebuild, and show them that they failed."

Abberline's message, all of their hopes, had been echoed back to him.

She craned her neck to look at his Master again.

" He's gonna be cold without me to keep him warm. Keep him warm for me, eh Black?"

Her smile said everything that was hidden in that request.

 _Keep him alive._

 _Keep him happy._

 _Keep his humanity._

 _Keep him warm_.

The sun's first rays peaked over the treeline, blasting with slow elegance through the window panes. Her figure was silhouetted against the brightness, and in the brilliance flashed herself in her old costume, for a very brief moment before returning to her old self.

" Keep him smiling for me, okay? Promise me, Sebastian."

His name left her lips with a heavy force, fluttering its way to the demon as its source faded into the dawn's light.

Sebastian.

Not demon, not butler, not devil, hell-fiend or any other name.

Just.

Sebastian.

A human's name placed upon a demon, a heavier burden than he had been prepared for.

 _Sebastian_.

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 **By far, Doll's death made me the saddest. still makes me the saddest. help. send the fanbulance. I can only hope that I did a decent job of portraying her.**


	8. Goodmorning

**FINAL CHAPTER HERE YOU GUYS GO I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE CUZ IT WAS FEELS-HELL TO WRITE PLEASE DROP A REVEIW AND LET ME KNOW HOW I DID :D**

* * *

Brilliant light spilled into the room, burning red into the back of the boy's mind as he stirred awake.

 _What a strange dream…._

Not only could he remember the flowery scent of his mother's perfume and her lullaby, but he had also felt warmth, a soft body to curl into, one he had not felt for a long time.

 _Doll… No, Freckles..._

What had been her real name? He had never learned.

Determined not to let such sad things weigh upon him so early in his day, he wiped at his eyes and moved to get up.

He was restrained.

Squirming until he made a full turn onto his side, he nearly yelped with surprise, immediately on edge.

" What the hell, demon?" he exclaimed, trying to push himself away from the fiend beside him.

He opened his burgundy eyes, holding the softest expression as he looked upon his young lord.

" You grew cold, I am keeping you warm."

The boy only managed a muttering of incoherent syllables.

" Good Morning, Ciel."

His name, spoken by his own death, felt so foreign. Yes it had been spoken before, though very rarely and never so softly. Hearing it come from his own butler's lips was so much more… personal.

The demon considered discussing the change in the terms of the contract with the boy, and decided against it. Ciel was so convinced of his own inhumanity that he would quickly have rejected the change in terms. The butler simply had to change things over time, and let the boy realise the truth on his own.

" You've grown quite frigid, allow me to keep you warm, please Ciel."

There it was again, his name. So soft, so very soft and so were his eyes, his touch. Ungloved, Ciel could feel his demon's fingers as they brushed through his hair.

" … Alright, Sebastian."

Sebastian smiled as Ciel surrendered into his embrace, burying his face into the his chest. He planted a small, lighter-than-air kiss upon the boy's hair. Ciel smiled into the jacket of Sebastian's butler uniform. His tea grew cold beside a manila file on the silver tray also containing two pocket watches, one silver and one blacker than black. The black one was open, in the shell of it's cover was a photograph of the two, soul and demon, master and death, Ciel and Sebastian.

The hands of the watch spun insanely, never stopping like an erratic heart beat.

Infinity in years.

Infinity in days.

Infinity in hours.

Infinity in minutes.

Infinity in seconds.

Infinity is for the two of them.

 _Keep me warm, Sebastian._

 _Yes, Ciel._

 _Fin._

* * *

 **So, what did you guys think? Did you like it? This story took me a few weeks to write, and a few days to properly edit. I hope you enjoyed it and drop a review or PM for any comments or creative criticism. Love ya!**


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